Audio output of text data using speech control commands

Abstract

Example embodiments disclosed herein relate to audio output of speech data using speech control commands. In particular, example embodiments include a mechanism for accessing text data. Example embodiments may also include a mechanism for outputting the text data as audio by converting the text data to speech audio data and transmitting the speech audio data over an audio output. Example embodiments may also include a mechanism for receiving speech control commands that allow for voice control of the output of the audio data.

1 . A computing device comprising:
 a processor;   a voice input interface;   an audio output interface; and   a machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions executable by the processor, the machine-readable storage medium comprising:
 instructions for accessing text data comprising a set of directions for accomplishing a task, the set of directions comprising a plurality of steps, 
 instructions for auditorily outputting each step in a sequential order by converting the text data to speech audio data and transmitting the speech audio data over the audio output interface, and 
 instructions for receiving speech control commands via the voice input interface, the speech control commands allowing for voice-directed control of the sequential output of the set of directions included in the text data. 
   
     
     
         2 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the text data is a recipe and each step is either a particular ingredient included in the recipe or a particular task for following the recipe. 
     
     
         3 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the speech control commands comprise:
 a command for starting speech output of only a first step in the set of directions,   a command for starting speech output of a next step in the set of directions, and   a command for repeating speech output of a last-outputted step in the set of directions.   
     
     
         4 . The computing device of  claim 3 , wherein the speech control commands comprise at least one of:
 “beginning” as the command for starting speech output of the first step,   “move” as the command for starting speech output of the next step, and   “back” as the command for repeating speech output of the last-outputted step.   
     
     
         5 . The computing device of  claim 1 , wherein the speech control commands comprise:
 a command for beginning continuous speech output of the set of directions in a sequential order,   a command for pausing the continuous speech output of the set of directions, and   a command for resuming the continuous speech output of the set of directions after issuing the command for pausing.   
     
     
         6 . The computing device of  claim 5 , wherein the speech control commands comprise at least one of:
 “again” as the command for beginning the continuous speech output,   “discontinue” as the command for pausing the continuous speech output, and   “move” as the command for resuming the continuous speech output.   
     
     
         7 . A machine-readable storage medium encoded with instructions executable by a processor of a computing device, the machine-readable storage medium comprising:
 instructions for accessing text data comprising a set of directions for accomplishing a task, the set of directions comprising a plurality of steps;   instructions for converting each step in the set of directions to speech audio data, the speech audio data comprising a computer-generated reading of the text data;   instructions for decoding speech control commands received via a voice input interface, the speech control commands directing sequential speech output of the steps in the set of directions; and   instructions for sequentially outputting the speech audio data for the steps in the set of directions in accordance with the speech control commands received via the voice input interface.   
     
     
         8 . The machine-readable storage medium of  claim 7 , wherein the speech control commands include at least one of
 a first set of control commands for controlling continuous reading of the set of directions, and   a second set of control commands for controlling step-by-step reading of the set of directions.   
     
     
         9 . The machine-readable storage medium of  claim 7 , wherein the speech control commands comprise:
 a command for starting speech output of a next step in the set of directions, and   a command for repeating speech output of a last-outputted step in the set of directions.   
     
     
         10 . The machine-readable storage medium of  claim 7 , wherein the speech control commands comprise:
 a command for beginning continuous speech output of the set of directions in sequential order,   a command for pausing the continuous speech output of the set of directions, and   a command for resuming the continuous speech output of the set of directions after issuing the command for pausing.   
     
     
         11 . The machine-readable storage medium of  claim 7 , wherein the instructions for converting each step in the set of directions to speech audio data comprise:
 instructions for parsing the text data into the plurality of steps prior to converting each step to the speech audio data.   
     
     
         12 . The machine-readable storage medium of  claim 11 , wherein the instructions for parsing divide the text data into steps using at least one of:
 an ordering scheme included in the text data,   user-identified breaks in the text data, and   delimiting characters included in the text data.   
     
     
         13 . A method for controlling speech output of a set of directions for accomplishing a task, the method comprising:
 receiving, in a computing device via a voice interface, a voice command for beginning speech output of a first step in the set of directions for accomplishing the task, the voice command corresponding to a particular method for outputting the set of directions;   converting text of the first step in the set of directions to speech audio data using a text-to-speech engine;   outputting the speech audio data for the first step using an audio output interface;   when the particular method specified by the voice command for beginning the speech output is a continuous reading method, sequentially converting each step to speech audio data and outputting the speech audio data until receipt of a voice command for pausing the speech output or reaching an end of the set of directions; and   when the particular method specified by the voice command for beginning the speech output is a step-by-step reading method, awaiting receipt of a voice command to resume reading prior to reading a next step in the set of directions.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein the voice interface is a Bluetooth host interface in communication with a Bluetooth headset. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein:
 the set of directions is a recipe including a listing of ingredients and a task list, wherein each step is either a particular ingredient or a particular task,   the continuous reading method sequentially outputs speech audio data for all ingredients followed by speech audio data for all tasks until receipt of a pause command, and   the step-by-step reading method outputs one step at a time starting with a first ingredient in the listing of ingredients and ending with a last task in the task list.